Al-Aqeeq governorate, which is a major water source for the entire Baha Province, is replete with valleys spotted with green farms.
A number of dams have been constructed in the area to collect rainwater that is pumped to dry regions in and around Baha Province. This includes Al-Aqeeq Valley and Wadi Tharad Valley dams.
The abundance of water has made Al-Aqeeq a major farming center producing dates, wheat, barley, vegetables and fruits such as grapes, pomegranates, apricots and oranges.
Al-Aqeeq was once on ancient trade and pilgrim routes and has a significant role in Arabian history. A number of inscriptions discovered in the area are related to early Islamic history between the first and third centuries after the Hijra, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.
The northern side of the region has several copper mines. There were several mines in operation during the time of the caliphs of the early Abbasid period (750 to 1258 AD).
The area is also well known for folk arts, including the Ardah dance, traditional music and has produced many famous Arabic poets. Traditional souks, which are famous for livestock among other things, are conducted mostly on Wednesdays.
Al-Aqeeq Valley a major water source
Al-Aqeeq Valley a major water source
Israeli military says it intercepts missile fired from Yemen
- The missile set off air raid sirens across large swaths of central Israel, sending residents running for shelter
JERUSALEM: A surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen at central Israel on Monday was intercepted, the Israeli military said.
The missile set off air raid sirens across large swaths of central Israel, sending residents running for shelter.
“Following the sirens that sounded in a number of areas in central Israel, the surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen was successfully intercepted” by the Israeli Air Force, the military said in a statement.
The statement did not say who fired the missile. The Iran-backed Houthi movement which controls northern Yemen has frequently attacked Israel over the past year in what it says is solidarity with the Palestinians.
Baseball United partners with ECB to launch UAE national team
- Emirates Cricket Board backs history-making new team that will compete in Baseball United Arab Classic tournament next month
- Baseball United presented the plan for the team and program to the ECB as part of its grassroots and community development strategy
DUBAI: Baseball United, the first-ever professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and South Asia, announced today a plan to form and develop the first national baseball team in the history of the UAE.
Baseball United received official sanctions from the Emirates Cricket Board to manage the UAE National Baseball Team and institute a corresponding development program for baseball in the nation. The Emirates Cricket Board is the governing body for bat and ball sports activities in the UAE.
The new team will compete in international baseball events, beginning with Baseball United’s inaugural Arab Classic tournament, which will take place from Nov. 7-10, 2024, at Baseball United’s new ballpark in Dubai.
Baseball United presented the plan for the team and program to the ECB as part of its grassroots and community development strategy. The new sanctions tout Baseball United’s professional knowledge, expertise and pedigree as a respected international baseball organization, and enable it to oversee player selection, player development and the team’s participation in baseball competitions worldwide.
“Thanks to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board, and the ongoing support of Vice Chairman Khalid Al-Zarooni and General Secretary Mubashshir Usmani, we’ve been able to reach another significant milestone for baseball in this region,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Baseball United.
“While our professional league aims to create the gold standard for baseball across the Middle East and South Asia, we believe the most powerful way to grow the game is through the development and enhancement of national team programs in this part of the world. We’ve supported several national teams over the past three years, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and now we are very grateful to build a new program here in our UAE headquarters.”
The new team will now compete with Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia and five other regional nations at Baseball United’s Arab Classic event. Saudi Arabia and the UAE will field national baseball teams for the first time. The tournament will be the largest national baseball team tournament in the history of the region, with all games played at Baseball United’s new ballpark at the Sevens sports and entertainment complex in Dubai.
The UAE National Baseball Team will follow World Baseball Classic eligibility rules and regulations, which will enable broader representation and participation for local residents. In addition to country citizens, WBC rules allow for permanent legal residents and/or players born in the national team’s country or territory to participate in its international events. In addition, players with at least one parent who is, or if deceased, was, a citizen of the national team’s country or territory, or whose parent was born in the national team’s country or territory, are also eligible to play.
“I truly believe this milestone will be an inspiration to countless young players, coaches and fans across the UAE,” Shaikh added. “We are excited to implement our baseball training curriculums and professional protocol, and get to work in developing the most competitive team possible. I have no doubt that the UAE team will make their country proud.”
Force alone will not lead to Israel’s security, France says
- “Force alone cannot guarantee the security of Israel, your security. Military success cannot be a substitute for a political perspective,” Barrot said
JERUSALEM: Israel’s security cannot be guaranteed with military force alone and will require a diplomatic solution, France’s foreign minister said on Monday, and Paris would continue efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Speaking at the end of a four-day tour of the Middle East, Jean-Noel Barrot was in Israel on Monday to mark a year since Hamas militants crossed into Israel killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage back to Gaza.
The assault triggered an Israeli military campaign in Gaza that has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry. The war has spread conflict across the region with Israel stepping up military operations over its northern border in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.
“Force alone cannot guarantee the security of Israel, your security. Military success cannot be a substitute for a political perspective,” Barrot told a news conference in Jerusalem.
“To bring the hostages home to their loved ones, to allow the displaced to return home in the north (of Israel), after a year of war, the time for diplomacy has come.”
Barrot’s arrival in Israel, where about 180,000 French citizens live, came at a tricky time in Franco-Israeli relations after President Emmanuel Macron was firmly rebuffed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the weekend.
Macron had called for a de facto arms embargo on Israel and, in a veiled attack on the US, said countries that both supplied weapons and called for a ceasefire where they were being used in conflict were being incoherent. French arms supplies to Israel are minimal.
Barrot reiterated that it was odd to call for a ceasefire while giving offensive weapons. He said that France, as a staunch defender of Israel’s security, felt it was vital to be frank about the ongoing suffering of civilians in Gaza, but also the military operation now in southern Lebanon.
France worked with the United States in trying to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon at the end of September. Diplomatic sources had at the time believed this had secured a temporary truce, a day before Israel heavily bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
“We have a responsibility to act today to avoid Lebanon finding itself in a short horizon in a dramatic situation like Syria found itself a few years ago,” Barrot said.
Ceasefire proposals put forward together with Washington remain on the table, he said.
Rakan Ali Reda, Haya Al-Mami take gold at rowing competition
- Sixteen male and female rowers from various parts of the Kingdom took part in the beach sprint at Kokiyan Beach in Jeddah
- Ali Hussein Alireza: The tournament showed the emergence of great talents in the sport of rowing, which will be the nucleus of a Saudi team
JEDDAH: Jeddah Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi crowned the winners of the coastal rowing competition as part of the third Saudi Games on Saturday.
Sixteen male and female rowers from various parts of the Kingdom took part in the beach sprint at Kokiyan Beach in Jeddah.
The two-day competition began with preliminary qualifiers to determine the finalists.
In the men’s category, Rakan Ali Reda claimed the gold medal, with Turki Al-Aref earning the silver, and Moayyad Al-Rashidi securing the bronze. In the women’s category, Haya Al-Mami won the gold medal, while Israa Qadri took home the silver, and Yusra Malaika earned the bronze.
The President of the Saudi Rowing Federation Ali Hussein Alireza congratulated the winners on their achievement.
“The tournament showed the emergence of great talents in the sport of rowing, which will be the nucleus of a Saudi team that can provide impressive results in the upcoming international championships,” he said.
“The future of rowing will witness great development in the Kingdom with the direct support of the Ministry of Sports.”
The Saudi Games is the largest national sporting event held annually in the Kingdom, featuring the participation of more than 9,000 athletes, representing 200 clubs and competing in 52 different sports.
The total prize pool exceeds SR200 million ($53.25 million), with the gold medalists in the coastal rowing receiving SR1 million, the silver medalists SR300,000, and the bronze medalists SR100,000.
Russia says grain harvest hit by Ukraine war, bad weather
- Russia, the world’s top wheat exporter, has officially forecast this year’s grain harvest at 132 million metric tons, an 11 percent drop from 148 million tons in 2023
- However, after bad weather hit many grain-producing regions, the forecast is set for a downward revision
MOSCOW: Russia’s grain harvest will be hit by the impact of Ukraine’s attacks on grain-producing regions close to the border and by bad weather in many other regions, the RIA news agency cited Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut as saying on Monday.
Russia, the world’s top wheat exporter, has officially forecast this year’s grain harvest at 132 million metric tons, an 11 percent drop from 148 million tons in 2023 and a 16 percent drop from a record 158 million tons in 2022.
However, after bad weather, ranging from early spring frosts to drought and rain, hit many grain-producing regions, the forecast is set for a downward revision. The IKAR consultancy sees this year’s grain harvest at 124.5 million tons.
Concerns over Russia’s smaller-than-expected grain harvest supported international prices in recent months, with wheat reaching four-months high last week.
“We are currently calculating the figures, taking into account the bad weather in Siberia,” Lut was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.
“And on the other hand, unfortunately, considering the inability to harvest crops in regions where a counter-terrorist operation regime has been introduced,” Lut added in a first public acknowledgment of the war’s impact on the harvest.
Russia introduced the regime in Kursk, as well as neighboring Bryansk and Belgorod regions, following a major Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region, Russia’s seventh-largest grain-producing region, on Aug. 6.
Both Belgorod and Bryansk regions, major grain-producing areas, have become targets of regular attacks by Ukraine’s military. Ukrainian forces still control a large swathe of the Kursk region.
Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov said in September that after the attack, the harvesting of grains could not be completed on an area of 160,000 hectares. He estimated the damage from the attack at almost $1 billion.
Lut said the final estimate for this year’s harvest will be announced on Oct. 10. Sovecon consultancy earlier estimated that as of Oct.1, Russian farmers had harvested 111 million metric tons of grain.
Lut also said that winter crops sowing in many regions was difficult because of the continued drought. Sovecon consultancy said that no rains were expected in winter grain sowing areas until mid-October.
“The sowing is going very hard. We plan to sow 20 million hectares, as we did last year. But we are practically sowing in sand,” Interfax news agency quoted Lut as saying.
